


Try, Try Again

by heretherebemonsters



Series: Building by Design [2]
Category: Kuroshitsuji | Black Butler
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Embarrassment, Fluff, Human AU, M/M, Shy!Sebastian, Unresolved Issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-27
Updated: 2015-01-27
Packaged: 2018-03-09 07:20:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,344
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3241151
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heretherebemonsters/pseuds/heretherebemonsters
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Claude asks Sebastian out but it doesn't happen the way he'd hoped.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Try, Try Again

**Author's Note:**

> I own nothing you recognize.

Claude saw Sebastian exactly a week later when he stopped into his client’s firm to drop off his weekly status report. His brief meeting with the client had gone well and he’d pulled out his phone as he’d left the office to text Mark to let him know he’d be on his way back to the job site soon. The work day was almost over and all that was left to see to was clean-up before the weekend. Being that it was Friday and a beautiful one at that, Claude had decided they could afford to wrap it up a couple hours early this time. His crew had been working diligently and they were on schedule. A little extra weekend time was well deserved by all.

Just as Claude was hitting the Send button, he collided with someone making their way down the corridor headed in the opposite direction. This someone was smaller than he was and literally bounced off him with a surprised exclamation. Claude automatically reached out to steady the other person. As his fingers wrapped around a slender bicep, he realized that there were papers fluttering everywhere around the two of them. A black leather portfolio lay sprawled open on the floor near Claude’s feet.

“Excuse me, I’m so sorry!” came a familiar voice immediately after the impact. Claude jerked in surprise, finally actually looking at the person he’d run into and realizing with a dawning mixture of delight and horror that it was Sebastian.

The handsome young architect had been on Claude’s mind since their initial meeting the previous week. There was something about him that had made him stick in Claude’s memory and he had found himself hoping that somehow he would run into Sebastian again. But he hadn’t meant for it to literally happen.

“No, excuse me,” Claude insisted. “I wasn’t paying attention.”

Sebastian looked up at him then and froze, coming to the same moment of realization that had hit Claude only seconds before. Claude watched as a light flush of embarrassment appeared high on Sebastian’s cheekbones. A beat of silence passed between them before Sebastian cleared his throat nervously and Claude simultaneously realized he was still holding onto the other man’s upper arm. He let go, silently hoping he hadn’t been gripping too tightly.

“It’s nice to see you, Claude,” Sebastian said quietly. There was a note of happiness in his voice despite the fact that he still looked mortified at the circumstances of their meeting.

“You too, Sebastian,” Claude replied, genuinely meaning it.

Sebastian’s gaze found the scattered papers on the hallway floor and he sighed before crouching to begin gathering them up. “That’s what I get for walking around with my portfolio unzipped,” he mumbled.

“Let me help you,” Claude offered, joining Sebastian in his task. “It was partially my fault, after all.”

Sebastian looked up and smiled at Claude. “I’d say we’re both to blame here,” he said, taking a handful of papers from the other man and tucking them into his portfolio. “What brings you here anyway?” He sounded genuinely curious.

“Just dropping off my weekly report for the client,” Claude explained with a little shrug. “Nothing special, though bumping into you has definitely made things more interesting.”

Sebastian couldn’t hide the pleased expression that instantly appeared on his face. “I’m flattered,” he replied with a smile as he tucked the last of his loose papers in his portfolio and zipped it up.

Claude hesitated for a moment, weighing the merits of asking the question he’d been wanting to ask since the first day they’d met. It seemed a fairly safe bet that Sebastian was interested in him, if his flushed cheeks and slightly flustered demeanor was anything to judge by. Mentally Claude shrugged. The worst the other man could do was say no.

“Sebastian, would you want to have dinner with me sometime?”

Sebastian froze just as he was about to stand up from the floor. Claude saw the flush on his cheeks deepen a bit. Apparently the offer pleased him yet there was a tangle of conflicting emotions crossing his handsome features. Claude thought there was something like…fear in his ruby eyes. Claude said nothing, willing to wait for the younger man to sort through his thoughts. It was somewhat sudden, after all. Finally Sebastian moved, rising swiftly. His face had settled into a firm expression and it seemed he’d come to a decision.

“I’d truly love to, Claude. And I appreciate your asking but I really shouldn’t.” Sebastian’s tone was full of apology and something that sounded like regret.

Claude took a moment to process this response. It was, admittedly, not what he’d been expecting to hear. With all the unconscious signs Sebastian had been displaying firmly indicating an attraction toward Claude, he had thought the younger man would have accepted without much hesitation. Claude felt his shoulders droop just a bit; he was rather disappointed, if he was honest with himself. Sebastian had managed to capture his attention and he’d been looking forward to an opportunity to get to know him better.

“Oh,” Claude replied intelligently. He couldn’t think of anything else to say right at that moment.

Immediately Sebastian looked remorseful. “I’m so sorry, Claude. If things were different for me at the moment, I’d say yes right away. It’s not that I’m not interested. I am! I’m just…not in a very good place personally for relationships right now.”

“I see.” Claude still couldn’t seem to form any truly coherent thoughts. “Maybe some other time then?”

Sebastian offered him a small smile. “Yeah. Some other time.” He paused and shifted, hugging his portfolio to his chest in a manner that struck Claude as unconsciously adorable. “I really should be going. I have work to do and I’m sure you do too. It was good seeing you, Claude.”

Claude offered the younger man the brightest, most sincere smile he could manage despite the disappointment he was fighting off. “Yeah, you too, Sebastian. Maybe I’ll see you around sometime.”

“I hope so. Goodbye, Claude.” With that, Sebastian continued on his way, his steps swift and purposeful. Claude watched him go for a long moment before sighing quietly and walking away in the opposite direction. There was still work to be done and Mark was waiting on him, after all.

++++

The second time Sebastian bumped into Claude was a full month later. It was a quiet Tuesday evening and Sebastian had been curled up comfortably on the couch in his modest town home, reviewing the preliminary sketches for his next project, when he remembered that he was all out of milk. He’d forgotten to stop for some on the way home after work like he’d intended to. Sebastian shook his head at his own forgetfulness and set his papers and pencils aside and gone out for a quick run to the store.

He had every intention of getting in and out and headed directly for the back of the store and the dairy section. All hope of that was immediately dashed when he rounded the corner of the aisle and saw a by now familiar broad back and set of shoulders facing him. The lustrous black hair was unmistakable. It was undoubtedly Claude, reaching into the dairy cabinet for a gallon of milk.

Sebastian paused, mentally debating the pros and cons of the situation. Part of him wanted to turn and walk the other way and come back for his milk once Claude had left. Sebastian was still somewhat embarrassed after their last encounter. Between literally colliding with the other man and turning down his obviously heartfelt offer of dinner, Sebastian had only just managed to leave with his dignity intact. He knew it was a little childish but this part of him also was uncertain of what to expect from Claude once they came face to face again. Would he treat Sebastian differently? He wasn’t entirely sure he wanted to find out.

Another part of Sebastian however desperately wanted to have some contact with Claude once again, embarrassment or not. He had told himself that he would forget about the dinner offer from Claude but that had proven impossible. Sebastian would be the first to admit that he was excited by the fact that Claude was interested in him enough to put himself out there like that in the first place. He had wrestled with a sense of guilt for the rest of the day after turning the date down and the days immediately after had been laced with the feeling of a lost opportunity. Sebastian had told himself that he had answered truthfully but that hadn’t made him feel much better. The whole truth was that Sebastian had wanted to accept Claude’s offer, despite everything else he was dealing with in life that told him instinctually it was a bad idea. And he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about Claude since.

Ultimately it was this fact which spurred Sebastian to approach instead of remaining where he was, lingering in the nearby aisle. “Claude!” he called out cheerily as he drew closer, not wanting to startle the other man.

Claude immediately turned to look and when he saw who had hailed him, his handsome face split into a wide smile. “Sebastian! What a pleasant surprise.”

The fact that Claude didn’t glare at him and tell him to piss off had a wave of relief washing over Sebastian. “What a coincidence seeing you here,” he commented as he came to a halt opposite Claude.

Claude shrugged a little, reaching up with his free hand to push his glasses higher up his nose. “I live not far away and I realized I was out of a few things as I was headed home from the job site.”

“I live down the street,” Sebastian said as he opened the glass door and grabbed a jug of milk. “I was already settled in for the evening when I remembered I forgot to stop earlier.”

Claude grinned. “Well, I’m glad you forgot, otherwise we wouldn’t have crossed paths.” His golden eyes reflected a teasing glint that made Sebastian want to blush. “It was fate.”

Sebastian let out a laugh. “Who knows? Maybe I’m just scatterbrained.”

Claude snorted. “Somehow I doubt that. A scatterbrained architect? Highly unlikely.”

Sebastian laughed again, a clear ringing sound that Claude decided he liked. “Hey, stranger things have happened.” _Like the fact that we barely know each other and yet I can’t seem to keep my mind off you. ___

Claude shifted his weight casually onto his left leg and took a deep breath. “Listen Sebastian, I know you said you aren’t looking for a relationship or to date anyone right now. But I was wondering if you would want to get together sometime for drinks. Just casually, as friends. No pressure, no strings attached.”

The words took Sebastian by surprise. He hadn’t expected Claude to make any type of offer again and risk being rejected a second time. It seemed that either Claude had a thick skin for such matters or pride really wasn’t his thing. Either way, it was a refreshing change of pace from a vast majority of guys whose advances Sebastian had dealt with in the past.

“Sure.” The response just sort of tumbled out of Sebastian’s mouth but once it was out there, he felt no urge to immediately take it back. What harm could there be in hanging out? “I’d like that.”

Claude smiled and it was only then that Sebastian noticed a smidgen of relief in his eyes. “Great! When are you free?”

Sebastian spent a moment thinking about it, mentally running through his calendar. “Actually, I should be available this Friday. I took a couple hours of vacation so I could get off work early at four.”

“Perfect. We’re actually ahead of schedule on our current job so we’ll be able to wrap it up early on Friday. I’m not sure exactly what time though.” It was impossible to miss the brilliance in Claude’s smile. It seemed that he was well and truly interested, after all. This made Sebastian happy and it admittedly stroked his pride a bit but he couldn’t help the slight apprehension that settled in his gut all the same. It was still hard to shake the uneasiness left over from his relationship with Will, apparently, despite the passage of months.

Sebastian pushed that aside for now as he answered. “Well, why don’t I just give you my number and you can text me whenever you’re done working for the day?”

Claude’s aristocratic features registered surprise. “Okay. As long as you’re alright with that.”

Sebastian chuckled. “I wouldn’t have offered if I wasn’t.” Despite any reservations he might have harbored about letting himself get close to someone again, this much was true.

Claude hurried to dig his phone out of his back pocket, a sleek smartphone wrapped in a rugged looking case bearing a few scratches. No doubt it had been dropped, perhaps even stepped on at job sites. He punched in numbers as Sebastian recited them and saved the contact. When he was finished and had tucked the device away again, he looked up at Sebastian with a small smile. “Thanks.”

“No problem.” Sebastian snuck a glance at his own phone and saw that it was getting late. “I should be heading home, Claude. I have to be up early for a meeting tomorrow.”

Claude nodded. “Yeah, I should get done with the rest of my shopping. I’ve had a long day. Not gonna lie, I’m tired and the thought of falling into bed sounds amazing.”

Sebastian laughed. “I’m sure. You have a reputation for being a hard worker.” He let a smile linger on his lips. “Get some rest, Claude. I’ll see you Friday.”

“I’m looking forward to it.”

The two of them parted ways then much as they had a month previously, except that this time there was a spring to each man’s steps knowing that they would be seeing one another again soon.


End file.
